Food pantry has ideas for stumped shoppers

The Moraine Township Food Pantry has some holiday gift suggestions for that "person who has everything" that don't require any creativity, cleverness — or shopping.

The township will be opening a "client choice" food pantry laid out like a grocery store when it relocates its offices in early 2018, according to Moraine Township Supervisor Anne Bassi. The township announced this week that it has created a wish list of equipment items that can be purchased in someone else's name.

The full list of equipment items that can be donated in someone's honor can be found on the township's website at www.morainetownship.org.

According to the website, the priciest piece of equipment — an automatic door operating system for handicapped patrons — is available for $3,100. Glass-fronted freezer and refrigerator cases are $2,700 and $2,000, respectively, according to the website.

The township's list of items includes a three-bay sink, sorting tables, grocery shelves, a sturdy step ladder and aisle signage. The list includes waiting room chairs ($85), a "take-a-number" dispenser like those used at a deli counter ($75), shopping carts, shopping baskets and rolls of plastic produce bags.

"Our current food pantry is in the basement of our office, and since we do not have an elevator to the basement, we stage food distributions from our employee kitchen and office lobby," Bassi said. "The square footage for the new pantry will be approximately the same as we now have. However, it will all be on one floor."

Bassi said the township's food pantry served 5,353 residents from 2,041 households during the first eleven months of 2017.

"December tends to be a high-use month, so I anticipate we will serve 6,000-plus residents for the year," she added.

The pantry is open to all income-qualified residents of Moraine Township. Income thresholds, which vary by household size, are set at 185 percent of federal poverty guidelines.

"Any Moraine Township resident who is income-qualified is eligible to visit our food pantry twice a month, or more frequently if they are going through a particularly tough patch in their life," Bassi said.

As evidence of the need in a seemingly affluent community, Township Trustee Amy Zisook noted that 27 percent of elementary school students in Highland Park and Highwood are eligible for free- and reduced-price lunches.

The pantry, located in the township's office at 777 Central Avenue in Highland Park, is open from 9 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. Tuesdays and Thursdays and other times by appointment. The pantry provides clients with shelf-stable food, fresh produce, eggs, cheese or meat.

"We are hoping the community will think outside of the box when gift giving this holiday season, and give these items in someone's honor to help our township's struggling families for years to come," Bassi said in a release announcing the gift program.

The township announced in late 2016 that it had purchased a building at 794 to 800 Central Avenue for $1.6 million and would be moving out of its leased space.